Method and apparatus for controlling the heating of alpha fluid



oct. 31, 1933. M, D, HURCH 1,932,574

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE HEATING OF A FLUID Filed Sept. 1l, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l -Pn 1 I Oct. 31, 1933. M. D. CHURCH 1,932,574

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE HEATING OF A FLUID Filed Sept. l1, 1931 -2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WHY/vnf@ @Hake/1.

/MMBM W if ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 3l, 1933V Uur-rsp STATES,

PATENT .rFIcE i to Moore Steam Turbine Corporation, Wellsviile, N..Y., a corporation Application September. 11, 1931 Serial No. 562,389

This invention relates. to a rnethod andv ap; paratus for controlling the temperature oiwater o r other iiuid heated by the exhaust steam from iin the condenserattached -to the exhaust of the` engine. It is usually true, however, that thequantity of exhaust steam from the engine and the quantity of fluid to be heated are not in the proper relation to always produce a sufficient vacuum in the engine exhaust andkat the same time to maintain the desired exittemperature of the vfluid. This fact is of great importance Where the heated iiuid is to be used in process work where a uniform temperature is desired,

The principal object of the present invention .is to provide a method and apparatus by means oi which asunicientvvacuum may bernaintained in the condenser and at the same time a uniform eXit-,temperatureof a quantity oi the iuid to be.

heated` is obtained.

kThe principal feature of the invention by which this object is attained resides in the provision of two independent streams of cooling fluid and thev regulation oi the condensing action of one yci said streams to control the heatingeiiect ofthe exhaust steam upon the other stream; In one iormoi the invention this is plished by the use of two independent condensers, each receiving a portion of theV exhaust steam from the engine. The amountv of; the exhaust steam passingto each condenser is regulated so that one condenser receives just suflicient steam to heat its cooling fluid to the desired'temperature.

In another forni two independent `condensers the rate of supply of cooling iluid to one condenser is Variedto condense a greaterpor less amountoi steam.v This variation is accomplished in suchamannerjthat the remainder of the steam passing to the second condenser is just sufficient to heat the cooling iiuidtherein to the desired. temperature.

In still another form ofthe invention the two streams of cooling nuidare independently passed through a single condenser and the rate of supe ply of one is varied to control the heating effect oi vthe exhaust upon the other.

Other objects and features of theinventionand the f ull nature thereof will be understood from thefollowing description and claims and the attached drawings.

, ispreferably the same as that in condenser 15,; f accom-j oi the invention also using Fig. lis a diagrammatic drawing o f an arrangenient of the apparatus used in carrying out the invention in one of its forms. Fig.- 2 is as ectional` View through a portion of a temperature responsive device used for regulating thecon;VV

ensing action of one oi the condensing units. Fig. 3 is an elevational View or" one of the parts shown.inFig. 2. fi, 5and 6 are. similar views to Fig. l of other forms of apparatus for carrying out the invention.

Inv'igrl a steam turbine 10 has its exhaust conduit ilconnected to an expansion joint 12 in turnconnected to a T-ntting 13. One of the itting 13 is connected to an elbow 14 Airitilrzi connected to the exhaust steam inlet opening of a condenser 15. The opposite run of the T-fitting 13 is connected to .a gate-valve 16 in turn connected by a pipe l? and elbow 18 to the ex.- haust steam inlet of a s cond condenser 19. The condenser is supplied -with cooling iiuid through an inlet pipe 20. The said fluid from the pipe l2G enters afcharnber 21 and passes thence, through the lower bank of tubes 22to a ,chamber formed by the head 2.4 of the ,condensely From the chamber23 the fluid passes through the upper bankof tubes 25't01a chamber 26 connected to outlet pipe 27. The condenser 19 is similarly itted with an inletpipe 28 andv outlet pipe 29s and the circulation of fluid therein The bulb 3o o, a common form oi thermostat is inserted in the 'outlet pipe 27 and is connected by a conduit 3i with a thermostat head 32. A Theinterior of the head 32y is divided into an outer chamber andaninner chamber 34 by acornmon v forni of flexible corrugated f' cylinderi 35 which is compressed downwardly when the pres sure outside of the saine exceeds the pressure within and expands with thel opposite pressure relationship. Within the chamber 34 a vspring seat 35 abuts aga-inst the closed uppernendo-f the cylinder 25 and a compression spring 37 abuts against the underside of said seat and against the upper surface of an adjusting nuty 38e threadediyA engaged in a flange 33 to which the head 32 `is bolted. A Valve stem-39 is threadf edly engaged with the spring seat 36 and passes through an opening fio in the nut 38a; By means of this apparatus,4 the valve stem39 is-moved upwardly and downwardlyas the pressure inthe chamberBS-decreases and increases Yin response to changes of temperature atthe bulb. 30.

`The flange 38 forms partof a casting41 whiclil aiso has formed integrally therewith a cylinder head 42 bolted to one end ofv a relay cylinder 43. 11C

The cylinder head 42 is provided with an opening 44 through which the valve stem 39 passes into the cylinder 43. Within the cylinder 43 the stem 39 is connected to a plunger 45 having portions 45d, 45h and 45e of enlarged diameter fitting Within a sleeve 47 in turn fitting within the internal surface of the cylinder 43. The sleeve 47 is formed with ports 47a, 47D, 47e and 47d communicating respectively with annular recesses 48a, 48h, 48e and 48d formed in the interior wall of the cylinder 43. The said sleeve is fastened to a valve stem 52 passing through a stuffing box 53 carried upon the lower cylinder head 54 of the cylinder 43. The cylinder 43 is provided with a fluid inlet pipe 55 communicating with the recess 48e. It is also provided. with exhaust ports 56 and 57, the former communicating with the recess 48a and the latter communicating with the interior of said cylinder below the sleeve 47.

The rrecesses 48h and 48d are connected by pipes 60 and 61 to the lower and upper ends respectively of a valve-operating cylinder 62 mounted upon the housing of the gate valve 16. The said cylinder contains a piston 63 connected by a rod 64 to the gate 65 of the said valve. The said'piston is also'connected to a rod 66 in turn connected to one end of a lever 67, the opposite end of which is pivotally mounted upon a suitable stationary member 68. The stern 52 is attached to the lever 67 adjacent the pivotal mounting 68. An operating fluid under sufficient pressure to move the piston 63 is supplied through the pipe 55. The ports 56 and 57 are connected to a discharge pipe 70.

It will be seen that, as the temperature of the fluid in pipe 27 increases, the pressure in chamber 33 is correspondingly increased and the plunger 45 is forced downwardly. When this occurs, the enlarged portion 45e of the plunger uncovers ports 47d and the operating iluid from the pipe 55 is admitted to the upper end of the cylinder 62 through ports 47C and 47d and pipe 61. At the same time, enlarged portion 45h of the plunger 45 uncovers ports 4719 and fluid may escapefrom the lower end of cylinder 62 through pipe 60, ports 47h, 47a and 56 to the drain pipe 70. The piston 63 is, therefore, downwardly moved to move the gate toward its fully opened position. This movement of the piston 63 also rocks the lever 67, causing a downward movement of the valve stem 52 and the sleeve 47. When this latter movement is sufcient to bring ports 47h and 47d into register with enlarged portions 45h and 45e of the plunger 45, the supply of operating fluid to cylinder 62 is stopped. Thus a given increase of temperature in the pipe 27 results in a predetermined opening movement of the valve gate 65. Similarly, a given decrease of temperature in the pipe 27 results in a corresponding closing movement of the said valve gate.

The opening and closing movements of the gate valve 16 Vproportion the flow of exhaust steam between the condensers 15 and 19. If the temperature in pipe 27 momentarily exceeds a desired predetermined temperature, the valve 16 is opened to permit a'larger proportion of the eX- haustv steam to pass to the condenser 19. The amount of steam delivered to condenser 15 is, therefore, reduced and the temperature of the uid leaving the said condenser is correspondingly reduced. Similarly, if the temperature of the water leaving the condenser is momentarily dropped below the desired degree, the valve 16 is partially closed and more steam is supplied to the condenser 15. The heated cooling uid leaving the condenser is, therefore, maintained at a substantially uniform temperature and may be used for processes where such a uniform temperature is necessary. At the same time, there is always available sufficient condenser capacity to maintain a sufcient vacuum in the turbine exhaust. To adjust the apparatus to give .any predetermined temperature of the heated fluid within limits, it is only necessary to change the pressure of spring 37 by changing the adjustment of nut 38a. The position of plunger 45 for each degree of fluid temperature is thereby changed and the average position of gate valve 16 is changed accordingly.

In Figure 4, there is shown a form of apparatus by means of which the same result is obtained by regulating the supply of cooling fluid to the condenser 19. In the said gure, like numbered parts have the same construction and functions as in Figure 1. The operating cylinder 62 is, however, connected to a gate valve 116 which controls the supply of cooling fluid to the inlet pipe 28 of the condenser 19. By means of this arrangement, an increase or decrease of the temperature in pipe 27 is effective to partially open or close the valve 116 and to admit a larger or smaller supply of cooling iluid to the condenser 19. The said condenser, therefore, operates to condense alarger or smaller portion of the exhaust steam from the turbine 10 and the amount of steam supply to the condenser 15 is correspondingly varied. The temperature of the cooling fluid leaving the condenser 15 is, therefore, maintained substantially constant as with the previously describedarrangement of apparatus.

In Figure 5, there is shown a further modification of the apparatus. In this figure, like numbered parts have the same construction and function as in Figure 1. The conduit 31 is, however, connected to a thermostat head 132 which is adapted to control a rheostat 133 in a well known manner. The said rheostat is arranged to control the speed of a motor 171 which in turn drives a pump 172 which supplies cooling fluid to the inlet 28 of the condenser 19. The rheostat and thermostat head are so adjusted that the speed of the motor 171 is increased to supply more cooling fluid to the condenser 19 when the temperature in pipe 27 is increased and to decrease the speed of said motor when said temperature is decreased. Thus the effective condensing action of the condenser 19 is varied as before to control the temperature of the cooling fluid leaving the condenser 15.

In Figure 6, there is shown a still further modication of the apparatus for carrying out the invention. This formis for use when it is desired to heat the viiuid to a temperature higher than is possible with the exhaust steam normally leaving the turbine. In this modification, a multi-pressure-stage turbine 210 has its exhaust 211 connected to an expansion joint 212 in turn connected to the exhaust steam inlet of a condenser 213. The said condenser is supplied withthrough a pipe 220. The first of said streams of fluid, upon leaving the condenser 213, passes in to a pipel 222. The heater 221 is supplied-.through pipe 223 -with steam taken from one ofl the intermediate pressure stages ofthe turbine 210 'and' consequently at a higher lpressure and temperature than the exhaust steam. The said steam is, therefore, able to heat the stream of cooling fluid to a higher degreethan can be done 'by the exhaust steam .withinr the condenser 213. .The bulb 230 of a thermostatic device isY inserted in the pipe 222 and is connected by a conduit ..231 .to a thermostat head 232., The said head is of the same construction as the thermostat head 32 previously described and is connected to a relay cylinder 243 and a valve-operating cylinder .262 similar in construction. and operation to the cylinders 43 and 62 Vpreviously described. The operating cylinder k262 serves to operate thev By means of this apparatus, the rate vof supply of cooling fluid to theV lower bank of tubes 219 is decreased and increased in accordance with the decrease and increase of temperature of the outgoingcoolingfluid in Vpipe 222. With an increased rate of supply, the-,fluid in these lower tubes absorbs an increased .proportion of the heat of the exhaust steam and a smaller amount of heat is left to be absorbed by the iiuid in the upper bank of tubes.V Similarly, with a decrease in flow of iiuid in the lower bank of tubes, more heat is absorbed by the fluid inthe upper tubes. Thus the total heating effect of the condenser 213 and heater 221 upon the stream of fluid passing therethrough is controlled to preserve a substantially uniform outgoing temperature.

Inthe foregoing description, severalY alternative forms of the apparatus have been described. It isevident that combinations and variations of the specific elements of the various forms may be made without departing from the scope of the inventionf-for example, in the forms of apparatus shown in Figures 4 and 5, a single condenser lhaving two streamsof iiuid, such as shown in Figure 6, may be used. It isA also possible to use the auxiliary heater 221 as shown in Figure 6 with any of the types of apparatus shown in Figures 1,4 and 5. It is Ialso possible to .use any two of the types of control in the same installation when extremely close regulation of the temperature-of a'large stream of iiuid is required,-for example, the proportioning of the exhaust steam to the twooondensers asshown in Figure 1 may be `used in the same installation with the control of the cooling fluid supply shown in Figures 4 and 5. Similarly, the two methods of control of .cooling iiuid supply shown in Figures 4 and 5 may be used together. in the same installation. The method of yFigure 5 may be used with a steam engine or turbine driving the pump 172 instead of the motor 171. The governor of the steam engine or turbine is then controlledv by the thermostat head 132 to produce .the desired speed variation. It is also possible toY use .the method lof .'Figure with a compound `steam engine instead of a multi-pressure-stage steam turbine. n the appended claims, the term steam engine is intended to include turbines and other types of steam-operated prime movers. The terni a pair of condensing systems, used in the claims, is intended to include a construction such as the condenser 213 wherein the two condensing systems are included in a single unit.

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of controlling the heating of a fluid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine,

comprising condensing the steam by two independent :streams of fluid,V and .controlling kthe effectiveaction of one of said streams to regulate the outgoing temperature of the other.

2. A method of controlling the heating of fluid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising condensing the steam by two independent streams of fluid, vand controlling the effective action of one ofsaid streams to maintain the outgoing temperature of the other of said streams substantially constant.

3. A method of controlling the heating of a fluid by theexhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising condensing the steam by two independent streams of uid, .and controlling the effective action of one of-said streams to prevent the outgoing temperature of the other of said streams from exceeding a predetermined degree.

4. A method of controlling the heating of a fluid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising condensing the steam by two independent streams of uid, andautomatically controlling the effective action oi? one of said streams in response to variations in the outgoing temperature of'the other of said streams to regulate said `outgoing temperature.

5. A method of controlling the heating of a iiuid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising condensing the steam by two independent streams of iiuid, and automatically controlling the effective action of one of said streams in response to variations in the outgoing temperature of the other of said streams to maintain said outgoing temperature substantially constant.

.6. A method of controlling the heating of a iiuid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising condensing the steam by two independent streams of fluid, and automatically controlling the effective action of one of said streams in response to variations in the outgoing temperature of the other-ol said streams to prevent said outgoing temperature from exceeding a predetermined degree.

7. A method of con-trolling the heating of a fluid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising condensing the steam by two independent streams of iiuid, and controlling the rate of supply of one of said streams to regulate vthe outgoing temperature ofthe other.

8. A method of controlling the heatingY of a? fluid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising condensing the steam by two independent streams of iiuid, and controlling the rate of supply of oneof said streams to maintain the outgoing temperature of the other substantially constant.

9. A method of controllingY the heating of afluid by the exhaust steam from a `steam engine, comprising condensing the steam by two yindependent streams of fluid, and automatically con-V perature of the other to maintain said outgoing temperature substantially constant.

11. Amethodnof controlling the heating'of a fluid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising :dividing said exhaust steam 'between two condensing systems, condensing the steam in each system by anindep'endent stream of condensing fluid associated therewith, and pro'- portioning the amount of exhaust steam to the two systems to regulate the outgoing temperature of one, of said streams of fluid.

l2. A method of controlling the heating of a huid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising dividing said exhaust steam between two condensing systems, condensing the steam in each system by an independent stream of condensing fluid associated therewith, and proportioning the amount of exhaust steam to the two systems to maintain the outgoing temperature of one of -said streams substantially constant.

v 13. A method of controlling the heating of a fluid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising dividing said exhaust steam between two condensing systems, condensing the steam in each system by an independent stream of condensing fluid associated therewith, and automatically proportionng the amount of exhaust steam to the two systems in response to the outgoing temperature of one of said streams of fluid to regulate said outgoing temperature.

14. A method of controlling the heating of a fluid by the exhaust steam from a steam engine, comprising dividing said exhaust steam between two condensing systems, condensing the steam in veach system by an independent stream of oondensing fluid associated therewith, and automatically proportioning the amount of exhaust steam tothe two systems in response to the outgoing temperature of one of said streams of fluid to maintain said outgoing temperature substantially constant.

15. Apparatus for controlling the heating of a fluid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a pair of condensing systems for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam, means for supplying an independent stream of cooling uid to each system, and means for varying the rate of heat transfer in one of said systems to regulate the temperature of the heatedcooling fluid leaving the other of said systems.

16. Apparatus for controlling the heating of aV fluid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a pair of condensing systems for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam, means for supplying an independent stream of cooling fluid to each system, and mechanism automatically responsive to the temperature of the heated cooling iiuid leaving one of said systems for varying the rate of heat transfer in the other of said systems to regulate said temperature.

17. Apparatus for controlling the heating of a Huid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a condensing system for removing a portion of the heat from said exhaust steam to heat said fluid, a second condensing system for removing the surplus heat of said exhaust steam, and mechanism automatically responsive to the temperature of said fluid leaving the first system for varying the rate of absorption of heat in the second system to regulate said temperature.

18. Apparatus for controlling the heating of a fluid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a pair of condensing systems for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam, means for supplying an independent stream of cooling fluid to each system, and means for controlling the rate of supply of the cooling fluid to one of said systems to regulate the temperature of heated cooling fluid leaving the other system. I

19. Apparatus for controlling the heating of a fluid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a pair of condensing systems for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam, means for supplying an independent stream of cooling fluid to each system, and means for controlling the rate of supply of the cooling fluid to one of said systems to maintain the temperature of the heated cooling fluid leaving the other of said systems substantially constant.

20. Apparatus for controlling the heating of a fuid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a pair of condensing systems for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam, means for supplying an independent stream of cooling fluid to each system, and means automatically responsive to the temperature of heated cooling uid leaving one of sai-d systems for varying the rate of supply of cooling fluid to the other system to regulate said temperature.

21. Apparatus for controlling the heating of a fluid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a pair of condensing systems for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam, means for supplying an independent stream of cooling fluid to each system, and means automatically responsive to the temperature of heated cooling fluid leaving one of said systems for varying the rate of supply of cooling fluid to the other system to maintain said temperature substantially constant.

22. Apparatus for controlling the heating of a iiuid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a pair of condensing systems for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam, means for supplying an independent stream of cooling 'fluid to each system, and means for proportioning the supply of exhaust steam to the two systems to regulate the temperature of heated cooling uid leaving one of said systems.

23. Apparatus for controlling the heating of a iiuid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a pair of condensing systems for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam, means for supplying an independent stream of cooling fluid to each system and means for proportioning the supply of exhaust steam to the two systems to maintain the temperature of heated cooling fluid leaving one of said systems substantially constant. i

2li.` Apparatus for controlling the heating of a fluid by means of exhaust steam from a steam engine including a pair of condensing systems for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam,A means for supplying an independent stream of cooling uid to each system, and means automatically responsive to the temperature of heated cooling iuid leaving one of said systems for proportioning the exhaust steam to the two systemsl to regulate said temperature.

25. Apparatus for controlling the heating of a iiuid by means of exhaust steam from'a steam engine including a pair of condensing systemsv for receiving and condensing said exhaust steam, means for supplying an independent stream of cooling fluid to each system, and means automatically responsive to the temperature of heated cooling fluid leaving one of said systems for proportioning the exhaust steam to the two systems to maintain said temperature substantially constant.

MAYNARD D. CHURCH. 

